PTIC Kuala Lumpur

Secretary Ramon M. Lopez (right) with New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian during their meeting on 7 December 2017.

MAKATI – The government of New South Wales (NSW) expressed its confidence in the Philippine (PH) economy and wants to explore strengthened trade and investment cooperation ties between PH and NSW.

In a meeting with Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez on 7 December 2017, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian conveyed their government’s intention to enhance their relationship with PH.

A state located on the east coast of Australia, NSW imports telecommunication equipment and parts, passenger motor vehicles, medicaments, refined petroleum, and computers.

“We welcome Australian investors and businesses that will help us uplift the lives of those at bottom of the pyramid and enable the Philippines to contribute in the global value chain. New South Wales has expressed strong confidence in our economy and the business environment stability under the Duterte Administration and wish to partner with us,” said Sec. Lopez.

The trade chief highlighted the growing manufacturing sector and encouraged NSW to partner with PH in research and development. The trade chief also shared the PH government’s initiatives in streamlining and automating services to improve doing business in the country.

“We will continue to work on opening areas of investment and increase employment and business opportunities for all Filipinos,” Sec. Lopez added.

Meanwhile, Premier Berejiklian shared that many Australian businesses, especially in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector, are attracted to PH’s encouraging economic state and enormous potential. Apart from the impressive 6.9% GDP growth, the NSW premier highlighted the good traits of Filipino workforce and the work culture they have.

With infrastructure-related construction as one of the priority areas for expansion of NSW, Premier Berejiklian also opened the discussion on a possible partnership through the sharing of expertise and technological know-how in the industry.♦

PASAY CITY—As part of the government’s objective to strengthen its economic relations with external partners, the Philippines (PH) recently (10 September 2017) discussed with Australia (AU) and New Zealand (NZ) bilateral trade issues to bring the Philippine relations with these two countries into a more strategic direction.

At the sidelines of the PH hosting of the 49th ASEAN Economic Ministers’ (AEM) Meeting and Related Meetings, Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez, who also serves as the 2017 AEM chairperson, convened separate bilateral meetings with Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism, and Investment Steven Ciobo, as well as with New Zealand Member of Parliament Chester Borrows.

PH Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez convened a bilateral meeting with Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism, and Investment Steven Ciobo at the sidelines of the PH hosting of the 49th ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting and Related Meetings.

Sec. Lopez and Minister Ciobo discussed bilateral trade issues to enable PH to increase its exports to AU. In particular, Sec. Lopez raised the anti-dumping duty imposed on PH canned pineapples and resealable can end closures, as well as inquired as to AU’s processes to facilitate the entry of PH bananas to AU. Minister Ciobo reassured the DTI head of AU’s full cooperation with regard to the anti-dumping issues. He also expounded on AU’s quarantine procedures.

The Australian Minister highlighted that Australian businesses are looking into investing in PH, given the improved business environment in the country. However,

Minister Ciobo also raised the issue on the 60-40 foreign equity participation, to which Sec. Lopez remarked, “The government is trying to revise and repeal the relevant laws to enable increased investments to the country”.

PH also expressed its appreciation for all the assistance extended, in particular, those provided by the AU-led Aid for Trade initiative, as well as the scholarships granted to Filipino students through the Australia Awards.

Noting that AU is PH’s 16th major trading partner in 2016, with total trade valued at USD 1.38 billion, the DTI chief underscored that PH is open to doing more business missions ,which will provide an avenue for business in PH and AU to cite opportunities, as well as increase trade between both countries.

Meanwhile, Sec. Lopez also met with NZ Member of Parliament Chester Borrows same day.

The trade chief and the parliamentarian discussed how PH can look to NZ as an example for initiatives to improve the Ease of Doing Business (EODB) in PH, noting that NZ ranks 1st for EODB.

PH Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez (3rd from L) and other PH trade officials convened a bilateral meeting with New Zealand’s Member of Parliament Chester Borrows (3rd from R) and other New Zealand officials at the sidelines of the PH hosting of the 49th ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting and Related Meetings.

PH also shared that various government agencies, in particular the DTI, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Bureau of Internal Revenue have already streamlined procedures to facilitate businesses, and that other relevant government agencies are in the processes of improving their current systems.

“Key effort now is further streamlining and integration of the information system of the various agencies to cut the entire registration process into less than one hour once automated,” highlighted Sec. Lopez, adding the proposal to conduct more workshops/process studies with regard to EODB with NZ’s support.♦

The Department of Trade and Industry welcomes Australia’s Sydney Harbor Tall Ships, a company operating cruises and private charters in Sydney Harbor as they open their call center in the Philippines.

During a meeting with DTI’s Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Sydney (PTIC-Sydney), Philippine Commercial Consul Kenneth Yap noted that SH Tall Ships’ owners cited the talent in the Philippines as one of the main reasons for choosing to locate here. “Filipinos share the same language and outlook as Australians,” Marty Woods, owner of the SH Tall Ships, remarked.

The Philippine operation is intended to support their business offering day trips in Sydney Harbor and exclusive charters, specifically in handling customer queries, bookings and accounting. The Philippine office will be based in Pampanga and will be registered for incentives with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) according to Mr. Yap. SH Tall Ships plans to start with an small complement but expects to grow the workforce based on the demand.

“The fact that we are able to attract big and small companies to set up in the Philippines shows the global competitiveness of the Philippine Information Technology- Business Process Management (IT-BPM) industry,’” Yap added.

Sydney Harbor Tall Ships, a company offering cruises on Sydney Harbor on vintage wooden tall ships is owned and operated by husband and wife Marty and Lisa Woods. Among the famous ships they operate are the Southern Swan and the Soren Larsen.

Considered a “famous star of the sea”, the Soren Larsen was a cargo carrier sailing between Scandinavia, Iceland, Northern Europe and Britain. It was featured in a BBC TV series and on two European Films. It was also selected as the flagship of the First Re-enactment Voyage celebrating Australia’s Bicentennial. An accomplished voyager, the Soren Larsen sailed around the world visiting 25 countries and travelled 30,000 nautical miles.